Music

T.I. is slamming comparisons between his upcoming film and Ice Cube's game-changing comedy, "Friday" -- because why can't 2 things be great at the same time?!?

The trap music architect called the parallels "a thief to joy" ... responding to a meme that polled whether his "Da Partments" flick would top Cube's classic.

It's not the kind of talk you'd expect from a legendary rapper who's been as competitive as Tip, but proclaiming your film to be on the same iconic level as "Friday" is, undoubtedly, a pretty bold statement to make.

In a separate promotional IG clip, T.I. promised the film will deliver fans explicit "uns" ... uncensored, unhinged and unapologetic content, along with the best laughs Atlanta has to offer.

DC Young Fly helped produce the film alongside T.I., and Lil Duval and Karlous Miller serve as executive producers. T.I. says it's coming to Tubi's platform in the very near future.

Kelly Clarkson says therapy helped her get through her divorce, and she thinks it can be a useful tool for other couples who are going through relationship issues.

We got Kelly Wednesday in NYC, and our photog asked about her recent revelation she started therapy when her marriage hit a rough patch ... and has been doing sessions ever since.

Kelly says the reason therapy is helpful, at least for her, is the fresh perspective that comes with talking to people outside her normal circle.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly finally settled her bitter divorce with Brandon Blackstock back in March 2022, splitting after 7 years of marriage and two children together.

Kelly's been a divorcee for a while now, but it doesn't sound like she's gung ho about getting back on that horse ... though she's not closing the door completely on a future marriage.

Just as we suspected ... Killer Mike is calling BS on his own claims that André 3000 finally dropping a solo album ... after it appears he let the cat out of the bag too soon. 😬

Mike immediately clarified his blunder at the start of his appearance on "The Big Tigger Morning Show" Thursday ... where he quipped, "I was stoned out of my mind playing, teasing with y'all. Y'all done took the joke too seriously. But you know, [Andre's] always making music. He's never not making music ... so I got a chance to hear a lot of cool stuff.

Mike went on to plug "Scientists and Engineers," the Andre-featured track on his new album "Michael." It's not the same as a 3 Stacks album ... but will simply have to do for now!!!

André 3000 is poised to release his debut solo album ... according to Killer Mike, who also says he's expected to hear a super sneak peek very soon.

KM was making his promo rounds yesterday, including an appearance on "TMZ Live," and popped up on Sway's Universe, who quizzed his knowledge about the 3 Stacks album rumors.

The Run the Jewels rapper confirmed Andre's project and revealed he'll be meeting with him to hear the project in its entirety, having previously heard around 9 tracks.

Andre has a blistering verse on Mike's new self-titled album and pulling the trigger on his own project feels plausible.

A solo album from Andre probably hasn't been on fans' bingo cards for some time ... the 45-year-old MC has been on a nomadic journey while playing his flute for years and it's been nearly 16 years since the last Outkast album dropped.

The chances that this album will be Outkast-oriented are none to nada, per the group's longtime producer Sleepy Brown's predictions when we caught him at LAX.

Nonetheless, rap hasn't had a No. 1 album this year, and the interest alone behind an Andre album should run the numbers up ... if it actually drops!!

LeBron James put down the basketballs this week and grabbed a handful of Rihanna's pregnant belly instead -- and the adorable moment was all captured on video!!!

The King has been in France the past few days enjoying a little vacation during the Lakers' offseason ... and while at the Louis Vuitton show in Paris -- he ran into his longtime friend, Rihanna.

The two shared a warm embrace ... and at one point during the hug, LBJ couldn't help but give a squeeze to the most famous stomach on the planet at the moment.

Check out the footage, Bron palmed it like a basketball for several seconds -- and the "Work" singer was loving it!!

RiRi grabbed James' hand and appeared to thank him for some kind words he was whispering ... and it was all a super sweet moment.

Of course, the meetup was just one of many memorable occasions LeBron's gotten to experience this week ... he was able to dine with Draymond Green just a few days prior -- and he even received some serious praise for the 'fit and grill he rocked to the LV show.

Kenny G's ex-wife is pissed the musician is renting out his swanky pad to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez ... urging Kenny to sell off the place so she can get paid.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kenny's ex Lyndie Benson claims she's entitled to get a hefty paycheck per the details of their 2013 divorce settlement -- which says she'd get 25% of proceeds on the Malibu estate if Kenny decided to sell it for over $40 mil ... a price she thinks it's well worth today.

As we reported, Kenny's renting the place to Jeff and Lauren at a $600K per month price tag.

Lyndie claims she was unaware Kenny moved out so Jeff could move in, and thinks he's renting it to keep the cash out of her hands.

For those unaware, the Malibu mega property was a big debate amid Kenny and Lyndie's divorce, but they ultimately agreed they wouldn't sell it at the time.

Cardi B and Tasha K's beef won't die ... the blogger's stirring ish up again by telling Bardi Gang fans she's the reason Cardi's long-awaited sophomore album has been delayed.

On Thursday, Tasha dropped a sarcastic bomb masked as an apology ... claiming their years-long legal battle (which Cardi ultimately won) drained the "Bodak Yellow" rapper's bank account and pissed off her record label.

Tasha also took a dig at Cardi's hubby Offset's separate legal battle with his label and snarkily suggested Cardi has been on an endorsement spree in order to pay for studio time ... and her plastic surgery bills.

All of this seems like dangerous territory for a woman who's already been ordered to pay Cardi $4 million for trash-talking her.

Cardi's debut album ... 2018's "Invasion of Privacy" literally had all its songs go Platinum and is the highest-selling album from a female rapper to drop last decade, but Tasha claims the album lost money, and that's the only reason Cardi's shaking her down for the $4 mil.

What Tasha calls a shakedown, the rest of the world -- Cardi included -- calls a jury decision ... but tomayto tomahto.

Tasha went on to plug Ice Spice's upcoming "Barbie World" track ... a collab with Cardi's longtime rival Nicki Minaj as the icing on her revenge cake.

Louis Tomlinson fans are licking their wounds this morning after a massive hail storm forced them to evacuate his Colorado concert ... and nearly 100 concertgoers were injured.

The weather disaster went down Wednesday night at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater -- the show was set to start at 7 PM, but the huge bout of hail resulted in a few delays and push-backs until the whole thing was called off around 10:25 PM.

Fans were seeking shelter anywhere they could, too ... and many took to Twitter after the nightmare to complain about the golf ball-sized hail. One called the ordeal the "scariest night of my life," while another claimed they left the spot with a broken hand.

According to the fire department ... 7 people at Red Rocks were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and another 80 to 90 people were treated on the scene.

As for the show, Louie took to the bird app after the terrifying storm ... letting fans know he's devastated about having to pull the plug, before adding "I felt all of your passion! Sending you all love!"

The upcoming movie on Elvis and Priscilla has enraged some members of the Elvis Estate, who say the flick is a travesty.

Multiple officials connected to the estate tell TMZ, the film, "Priscilla," was produced without the Estate's knowledge or consent ... and they're ripping it as another Priscilla money grab.

The movie is written and directed by Sofia Coppola and its based on Priscilla's famous 1985 memoir, "Elvis and Me," telling the story of their early romance. Jacob Elordi plays Elvis opposite Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla.

One Estate official who saw the film describes Coppla's writing and directing as "horrible," adding "It feels like a college movie. The set designs are just horrific, it's not what Graceland looks like."

Priscilla has a very different take ... she tells TMZ, "I am very excited to see the interpretation of my book by the masterful Sofia Coppola. She has such an extraordinary perspective and I have always been such an admirer of her work. I'm certain this movie will take everyone on an emotional journey."

It sounds like the movie does take the Elvis officials on an emotional journey ... just not a good one.

Money has been a bone of contention with the Presley family lately ... as we reported, Priscilla settled her legal beef with her granddaughter Riley, who paid Priscilla a lot of money -- we're told millions of dollars -- to end her beef over who will control Lisa Marie's trust.

Afroman's learning a little ganja goes a long way in preventing you from crossing the Canadian border, where he got cited while trying to get back to the U.S. ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the Palmdale rapper and his crew were detained Tuesday by U.S. Border Patrol officers while they were attempting to get back on American soil at a port of entry crossing over the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York.

We're told they arrived at an inspection zone, where the feds found a ton of cash and some marijuana in their vehicle -- the bills totaled $10,000, but the bud was an insignificant personal amount.

Afroman tells TMZ ... he was on his way to a gig in NY when he was stopped at the border. He had given all his weed to his fans and housekeepers at his hotel but forgot about a bottle of cannabis pain lotion.

He says he was held for 5 hours at the border and fined $500 for the lotion -- and his DJ was also fined $500 for a small amount of cannabis gummies.

Law enforcement sources tell us the $10K was declared, and the weed was seized ... but nobody was arrested because it was such a small amount.

DaBaby is frowning on the flying phone assault Bebe Rexha just suffered ... and yet found a way to turn the topic into a plug for his new song. We can't front, it was pretty damn clever.

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with the Diamond-selling rapper out in Bev Hills in the wake of Bebe’s comeback show following a fan hurling a phone, leaving her with stitches and a black eye.

DaBaby says it hurt his soul to hear about that kinda fan foul play.

He's no stranger to fan-on-artist violence himself ... he once had a shoe flung at him during Rolling Loud, but is now advocating for peace. Ya gotta see how he made a quick pivot from discussing onstage violence to his new 3-song EP “Call Da Fireman."

DaBaby suggests fans should never throw their phones, and instead offers a better alternative -- which is using them to push play on his project!!!

It's not exactly a cry for justice for Bebe, but it's a fact streaming music won’t leave anyone injured ... so, overall definitely a better option for phone usage.

On the justice tip, though, Nicolas Malvagna is facing felony assault charges. TMZ broke the story, his attorney says Malvagna never intended to harm Bebe when he threw his phone at her, and he was just hoping she'd use it to snap a selfie.

American actor Michael Angarano was just 12 years old when he was cast as the young William Miller -- who would later become a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, tagging along with the band, Stillwater, for their cross-country tour -- in the 2000 movie "Almost Famous."

Angarano shared the big screen with Hollywood greats including Patrick Fugit as the 15-year-old version of William Miller, Billy Crudup as the lead guitarist of Stillwater, Russell Hammond and Kate Hudson as the #1 groupie of the band who is in love with Russell, Penny Lane.

Michael also played the role of Nick alongside Meryl Streep in the 1999 musical film "Music of the Heart."

Ice Spice was noticeably absent from the XXL Freshman 2023 announcement on Wednesday -- a shocker, for sure, and a side effect of her immense popularity this year.

Sources connected to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Ice had to decline a spot on the annual magazine cover after she started getting blitzed with festival bookings, and feature requests … making it difficult to lock in for the Freshman requirements.

As we told you, Ice is literally the hottest rookie in rap at the moment … earning a billion Spotify streams in just half the year and recording Top 10 hits with Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and Pinkpantheress.

She’s also secured a "Teen Vogue" cover and is scheduled for Wireless Fest in the UK, Broccoli City Fest in D.C, Blockfest in Finland, and Made in America in Philly -- all of the shows coming this summer!!!

And we’re told she won't be slacking on rehearsing ahead of each festival appearance.

Even without the "Munch" rapper, the 2023 XXL Freshman still sports budding talent, including Lola Brooke, Rob49, and GloRilla -- who snagged her first career interview with TMZ Hip Hop.

Killer Mike believes any new gun control laws in America will hurt Black people before any other group -- but the rapper's telling us a few other ways he thinks the spike in gun violence can be flattened.

Mike joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to discuss potential curfews for minors in Atlanta -- something he's all for as a measure to mitigate violence ... and, he says he had curfew when he was growing up in the area.

However, he remains firmly against the passage of new legislation as a means to reduce gun-related crime. Mike says he's a Second Amendment guy, first and foremost, but adds he has another problem with tighter gun laws.

He explains why he believes those laws would impact Black Americans "worst and first."

Mike tells us he'd rather see Black families armed, and better educated on the safer use and storage of weapons.

As you know, there have already been more than 300 mass shootings in the U.S. this year ... putting the nation on track for the deadliest year ever.

Mike thinks another solution is more funding for community facilities -- such as YMCAs -- to give kids safe havens to avoid trouble.

The writers' strike has no sign of slowing down, as a massive swarm of folks turned out for a rally more than a month and a half after members of the WGA decided enough was enough.

Thousands of writers gathered at Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles Wednesday ... with a ton of them carrying their picket signs and donning their blue WGA strike shirts.

In case ya forgot, the big strike started back on May 2 -- and while the bigwigs in Hollywood are holding their ground as projects are now missing a writing staff, it seems the creatives aren't backing down either.

As we reported, there have been a ton of good times being had at picket lines throughout Los Angeles ... accompanied by a bunch of food donated by celebs like Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg, and even Flavor Flav!

Speaking of celebs, a lot of A-listers have been spotted carrying picket signs left and right during the strike -- folks like Tina Fey, Bob Odenkirk, Susan Sarandon, and Pete Davidson.

We've even seen musical performances popping up at the various studios, including ones from Weezer and Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds!

Things are starting to look very grim for the 5 people trapped inside the submersible meant to explore the Titanic ... but that's not stopping the stepson of one of the missing men from shooting his shot with an Onlyfans model.

Hamish Harding is a British billionaire among the passengers inside OceanGate's Titan -- the submersible that lost communication 2 hours into its dive Sunday. Harding's stepson Brian Szasz has been very active on social media as the story has blown up around the world.

Brian was back on Twitter Wednesday, first asking his followers to continue to think of his family, writing, "Please keep my family in your prayers!🙏🏽♥️"

However, about 30 minutes later, his attention shifted to streamer and Onlyfans model Brea -- who posted a pic of herself in a bikini with the caption, "can i sit on u."

Brian, clearly into the pic, reposted it and replied, "Yes please!🥰"

Of course, Brian's comment section started to pop off following the post. One user wrote, "Lmao quote tweeting a thirst trap while your stepdad is lost at sea is wild business 😅" Another added, "This guy loves blink- 182 and having ladies sit on his face and he’s not afraid to let the world know."

As we reported, Brian's the same guy who announced he was going to a Blink-182 concert in San Diego as rescuers scrambled to look for Harding. Brian posted a photo outside the concert Monday night, clearly aware it was going to come off the wrong way and defending his attendance at the show as a way to cope with a tough situation.

Guess everyone handles stress differently.

Drake’s glowing review of Bun B’s Trill Burgers isn’t impressing Foodgod … all because he thinks Drake’s Canadian taste buds have no clue what a great beef patty is!!!

TMZ Hip Hop checked in with the culinary critic out in Beverly Hills on Tuesday and he wasn't 100% certain Canada even has a burger culture for Drake to know the difference.

We'd bet the house they do, but even if not, Drake is a world-class artist -- who's about to go on tour, again ... so his knowledge of food is probably stronger than most!!!

FG tells us he's too had Bun’s burgers at Coachella this year and thinks it's really good but says it's disqualified from the overall "Best Burger" category because it's a Smashburger.

That honor he says would go to JG Melon but FG does think Trill Burgers could be in the running for "best Smashburger."

There was also some skepticism over Mario Carbone's Ravioli Sorrentina scented candle … which pairs the scent of Drake's Carby musk with one of MC's fancy recipes.

FG says they missed a golden opportunity not making a candle from MC's more popular dish rigatoni -- but tells us his personal dream collab would be something with Offset. Chicken and waffles maybe? The Waffle House could potentially have some competition!!!